~«Modern Magic»~

"Wait, I believe that you can and I don't know what that was. Now, to my small problem. Sorry to bother you but first, I need refuge for the night, I have no money and no home here. Also, very soon the forces will be after me for I went AWOL. I also needd to find out about this book and my new found powers. Also, i need help fixing my car." He asked the child and he flexed his fingers. He was very weary of the helicopter overhead and what it was searching for...

Sanar hesitated. The man was clearly a caster. The others would welcome him...
"There's a haunted house. Just follow this road and turn left about a mile from here. It's a big mansion, you can't miss it. I don't know about your car. Sorry." And now he turned and ran, without waiting for the man to speak again.

Nero's knife scraped against the wall.
Nero lurched back. He was sure she had been there...
He shook his head. He had no time for such nonsense. And then..
He felt something.
He inclined his head to the....left...yes, to the left, not too far. Not just magic, but...familiarity.
Puzzling. He backed out of the alley, keeping an eye out for the follower, then turned and followed his senses.

Cobra turned to his car and concentrated. Suddenly the car began to creak and the warped metal bent back into place. If Cobra wasnt so well trained, he would have been astonished. "Now, what did the boy say? A haunted house? Better check it out I suppose."
Cobra said to himself and got into his car. "M.A.R.Go.T, drive to that "haunted" house. Should be in the SatNav." "Yes Sir" The car drove off and Cobra studied his book carefully...

Meanwhile, Butch was shaking hard. He suddenly woke with a burst for breath. He tried to get up but he just fell to the floor. He dragged himself to the stairs and slid down them. When he got to the bottom, he stumbled awkwadly to the others and twitched once. Twice and then just collapsed. His eyes stayed open but all that showed was the white. His body jolted and then went still...

Sanar slowed.
Home! Oh, how he longed to simply confess everythign to his dad, enjoy his sisters laughing at him, everythign back to normal, to sleep in his warm bed...
He opened the door, and walked in.
His dad jumped up from the sofa.
"Where the hell of you been?!" He said, almost shouting. He looked angry but he also looked worried, concerned and relieved. Sanar couldn't remember the last time his dad had ever seemed to care for him as much...
Sanar laughed, nearly crying, and hugged his dad.
"Sorry dad...I'm sorry...I really need to tell you something important..." he said, sniffing.
"What? What is it, Sanar?" His dad asked.
"Dad...I can do magic.." He said, fully expecting a flow of disbelief.
His dad stiffened.
"What?" he said quietly.
"Dad, I can-"
"That's quite enough of that."

Nero stepped out of the shadows, enjoying Sanar and his father's shocked looks.
""How did you get in?" Sanar's Father, (Who's name was Jeremy) demanded.
"I walked in when Sanar did. You won't have noticed me- I am a master of concealment."
Sanar stood up.
"Back off, whoever the hell you are. You do not know what you are dealign with." He said with steel in his voice. He felt the magic rushing to his fingertips.
Nero grinned. "Oh, but I do. You are a caster- a caster of air to be precise."
Sanar almost stumbled back. He knew about him! He must be a government agent...He felt angry. This man was trying to take away his whole life. He prepared to strike him down-
"Atrerbumra!"
-and fell to the sofa, bound by ropes make of soem kind of black mist. He felt shocked. The man was a caster! He was about to speak again when another ropes wormed itself into his mouth. His jaw would longer move, nor his mouth. He had an unbelievably foul taste in his mouth that made his retch, but even the bile would not force his mouth to open, and instead went back down his throat. He thought this must be the single worst experience of his life.
He vaguely saw and heard his father try to hit the man, but he fell to the ground, and did not get back up.
He tried to stand and see if his dad was all right, but now...everything was..fading....

George with red tainted visions, woke slowly from his unexpected sleep. Sound was muffled and his energy weak, George began to gradually gte up and regain focus. His vision slowly becomign clearer, he realised he wasnt in his home, he heard noises. "uugh... What's that noise....." He stumbled across near to a wall. He again ehard some stranges noises, some one talking. "wh.... i.. is any one ther..." He coughed a few times and lost vision slightly whislt coughing.

George began to slowly walk towards the noises in hope of aid. He heard a voice mutter something "is.. te... thi... a ... Geor... st... this.. test.... this is a test... George." The voice became clearer and less muffled, it almost sounded like its caming forrom his mind."Test. It's a test George. Wake up! This is a TEST! Ideot..." George was shocked, "what, where... Am I hearing voices? Ohh god, I've gone insane. I've actually gone insane. I can't believe it"

Cobra arrived at the house but unfortunatly, the police helicopter saw him and was chasing him. He got out the car with his crossbow and started looking at all it's bolts. "This is the police! It's over! Give your self up!" The officer blared out at him. Undeterred, Cobra found the bolt he was looking for and fired. The bot hit the helicopter and then detonated, blowing it out of the sky. "Easy. They should never have tried to arrest me." He turned and whent up to the door. He banged on it twice and then broke the lock off. He went inside and looked around. He saw the stairs leading down into the basement and stood at the top...

Heiwa watched the door open,and quickly hid behind it.As the man entered,and walked the other way,Heiwa looked out at him.He could see no obvious weaponry on his person...
"Whoare you."He said,pushing the door shut."And why are you here?"

Cobra turned and looked at the child. "Are you the owner? I need to talk with him. Sooner rather than later if you would." Fox stared at him and pulled out his crossbow from beneath his blazer. "You should have looked twice, child. I have a vast array of weapons on my person." He opened his blazer and he had lots of knives all strapped into his blazer. He had throwing knives, stilleto daggers, bowee knives. All different sorts.

Heiwa smiled.
"The owner of the house happens to live in England.He planned on renovating it into a tourist attraction.He has,however,forgotten about this place after his wifes death.We just live here.For now."He said,then walked through to the kitchen,and opened the fridge.Empty.And powerless.There must be a plug,after all there were lights...
"Are you still there?I would go greet everyone else.Although,then again."He looked up."I don't know if you're one of us."

Cobra looked at him and then turned. He pushed his hand out and barked a code. The walls began to break and crack and then a huge chunk of it got ripped out. "I think I am one of you. Not for long though. This is my predicament, I have just betrayed my government and now I am one of the worlds most wanted men. I have no money and I have no place to stay. The police are looking for me and I have just blown up a helicopter. I also need help fine tuning my powers. Mind you, very soon police cars are going to be at this very doorstep. Think you can help?" He turned his head and looked at Heiwa.

Tom walked into the room were the man and heiwa was. He still hadn't introduced himself, and only knew heiwa's name because he heard the others saying that when they spoke to him. Tom still didn't know what to say, or expect in this distorted world. It felt like a dream, it was too surreal.

Heiwa turned.
"You idiot."He said."You LED them here?"He pushed past,and ran down the stairs.
"Everyone!"He said"Get out NOW!The Police are coming!"He looked around.No Sanar.He swore under his breath,and run back up,and through the house,looking for him.

Tom was very annoyed with this. He was still wanted by the police!? And back then he only got mild warnings. Maybe a few hours or days in prision, but if he was caught to be a caster...he would get thrown in prision for maybe a very long time.

"Calm yourself, boy. They are after me, not you. Now, that delightful little boy aint here. He ran straight into the side of M.A.R.Go.T. He I believe went back to his house." Cobra got his crossbow ready with some explosive bolts and walked out the building. Sirens was heard coming close. Cobra cracked his neck and said "You guys should get everyone out. I will provide a distraction so you can get to safety." He looked across the road and squad cruisers were stopping. "Time to dance..." Was all he said when he walked halfway across the street.

Sanar groaned. His head felt like it had been bashed against a desk repeatedly.
Then again, maybe it had.
He opened his eyes. He could just, blearily, make out a grey room. Cold...stone...
A jail cell.
He jolted upright.
His sisters were on the other side of the room. Jessica, who was only 10, was crying. Beth, who was now 18, was comforting her.
He felt incredibly guilty. He had got his whole family captured.
He stood up.
"Look! The government can't simply do this to us!" He shouted.
"Quite right." Said Nero, walking into view beyond the cell bars.
"But we are not the government." He stared at Sanar for a few seconds, then beckoned to nervous, mousy looking woman.
"Check the archives. I want to know his family, and his history."
"But sir...why-" She stopped. Nero's stare could make you feel like a small child caught doing something wrong.
"Yes sir." She walked quickly out of Sanar's vision.
Nero looked back to Sanar.
"Your fate will be decided soon. Until then, allow complete boredom and terror to suffuse you in your cold dark cell."
He smiled.

Heiwa nodded.He stood at the top of the stairs of the basement.
"Everyone,out the back door!Regroup here in a few hours!"He shouted,then ran out the door into the woods.He didn't look back.

--------

Everything was blurred.And green at that.A few bubbles rose past infront of her eyes.
"She's awake!"Said a voice"Get Nero!He knows how to get her to utilise her powers to the fullest better than us!"

---------

The policeman saw the AWOL agent leave the house.A voice crackled through the radio.
"Change of orders;Make sure he ISN'T dead,but as close to as possible.He needs to be weak."The policeman nodded,and turned the safety off on his gun.

Nero sat in his room, meditating. Well, thinking.
A knock at the door.
"Sir! You are needed!" A voice called.
"No."
"But sir-"
"No.
"Sir, It's the Experiment!"
Nero's eyes flew open. He leapt up and barged out the door, shoving the messenger aside.
He ran to Lab 2. He didn't bother with a coat. Most of the scientists wore one in case of adverse effects from magical fields, but Nero knew it would do nothing to him.
"She's awake, sir. Properly awake- her brain activity is higher then recorded in her entire lifespan."
Nero nodded. He looked at the girl, suspended in a complex chemical liquid that suspended her magical powers. Nero himself had worked out the formula. This was one of the most important reasons the AMC needed him.
"Look at the charge of Bio-Thaum Acid. How much magic?" He said to a scientist.
"Uh...about 23%."
Nero nodded. That was pretty high. If he looked carefully he could see some small sparks leaping through the bubbles in the acid.
"Dilute it. Power the Thaumal Generators. They need to be up and running when the magic is released."
The scientists nodded, and hurried to work.

Yeni sat on the roof top watching the building. She was cursing herself under her breath, she had underestimated this caster, he was strong and cruel. Inside was an innocent family, evil scientists and one nasty caster. The trouble was, on the outside was an entire private army, well in the reception anyway. Several helicopters were hovering around the building, although they looked like corporate ones they almost certainly had snipers on them. There was another helicopter on the landing pad, waiting for someone, even at this distance she could make out the armed men. She crouched, waiting for the caster to come out, come out and die. She had spotted him a couple of times by windows but a blowpipe wouldn't even cross the street between the buildings, let alone go through glass.

_ _ _ _ _ _ _


Yarrul sat alone in the building, a sense of unease coming to him, something was wrong, terribly wrong he couldn't make it out, something was wrong. He got up from the rock he had been working on, one end beginning to resemble some fingers. He crammed it into his backpack and headed down into the basement, from there he headed into the sewers and he wandered hunting for an abandoned, dried up section he could survive in, escape from the other world in, be alone in...

Cobra looked straight towards the cop and said "Let's waltz" He pulled the crossbow out and fired at the left police car, blowing it up with ease. The cops open fired and Cobra was only just able to lift a pillar of stone to use as cover. "This is fun. die you fis a putain, licheor plain d'anvie!" Cobra dived out from the rock and let loose a standard bolt, killing a cop. He started to run towards the police and got shot several times in the leg. He got to a police and narrowly missed being shot in the chest. He wrestled the gun out the cop's hand and used it against him. He fired at another but ran out of ammo. "Bastard..." Cobra got hit once in the chest, then again. Cobra gasped and fell onto the bonnet of the cruiser.

Butch got up shakely and climbed the stairs. Outside he could hear sirens and guns. He found the bloodied knife that was used to heal himself earlier. "Mutherf*cker cops." He stumbled outside and saw a darkly dressed man get overwhelmed. He tried to run but the leutenant saw him and shot at him. One bullet got Butch in the shoulder, another in the leg. "Argh! Sh*t!" Butch cried out as he fell to the floor. Another cruiser came and secured Butch.

"This is Papa Charlie, we have got the Awol agent and the biker, over." "Very good Papa Charlie, get them secured and bring them here. Out." "Yes sir..."

Sanar lounged in the cell. He heard footsteps down the passage. He opened his mouth to spit abuse at his tormentors, but to his shock his dad came into view. Looking around nervously, he unlocked the cell.
"Sanar! Beth, Jessica! Quickly!" He said, urgently but quietly.
"Dad! How did you get in?" Sanar asked.
His dad looked torn.
"Sanar...these people are dedicated to finding casters and...killing them..."
Sanar didn't like the sound of this. "How do you know this..." He said, scared of the answer.
"I was helping them, Sanar. I'm sorry, I was helping-" He looked up, fear in his eyes.
Two guards stood there. They looked at them in shock for a moment, then pulled out handguns and opened fire.
Sanar's dad was standing in front of his children. He was shot- twice in the chest, once in his stomach, and once between the eyes. He was flung back, onto his children. His body fell on top of Sanar's sisters, leaving Sanar exposed to the guard's bullets.
Two Full grown men with guns versus a small child who has just lost his father.
They never had a chance.
Sanar picked up his sisters hands, and pulled them to their feet.
Then they began to run.

Nero watched the process of what he called Thaumal Extraction. He was making sure everything went according to plan when the mousy looking secretary called to him.
"Excuse me, Nero, Sir."
"What?" He snapped.
"I got the file you wanted..." She said, scared. Nero grabbed it off her, and began to read.
"Let's see...date of birth...country of origin...no police record...Parentage-" He stopped.
"What?" He read again. And again. "Oh my god...."

She winced.The cords were removed from her back,but the pain was gone almost instantly.The fluids in the chamber had healed the wounds instantly.They were drained,and she was left standing in the pod.She opened here eyes.There were a crowd of people around her,all staring with amazement.One seemed different somehow...
There was a sliding sound.The glass infront of her pulled back,and then the air around her entered.It was filtered,of course,but if you haven't breathed for months the air sure feels good.She looked at the people,who all started chattering excitedly.She didn't speak.
"H-Hello?"One of them said"AtrerMexis?Are you...alright?"So that was her name.
"Atrer...Mexis..."She said.

---
Her bio,for easier reference;
Name: AtrerMexis,or Amy
Age: Technically she is only a few months old,but biologically she is 12
Gender: Female
Appearance: Average height,pale skin.Shoulder-length straight black hair.Brown eyes.
Clothing: She wears a "labsuit" as the people at the AMC call them.It is a grey wetsuit-like piece,sleeveless and ending in a short skirt,with several circular holes in the back and "0001-AtrerMexcis" printed on it..Apparantly the main difference between it and a wetsuit is that it feels as soft as satin;not that she'd let you know how it feels and lives.She also has two small wristbands and a pair of boots of the same material.
Preffered Weapon: N/A
Element: Light and Dark
Personality: Quiet,mostly.On the outside she looks like a lonely little girl.But she is remorseless and deadly.
Short History: None,really.She was artificially grown from the dna of two captured casters by the AMC,in an experiment to see what would happen if someone had control over two elements.
Other: N/A
And,of course,MAGIC FTW

Nero looked up the file. The boy was...
He shook his head. Later.
He turned to the pod.
He did not say or do anything. He left the scientists to question her. He wanted to see how she would react to being out the pod for the first time in her life. Likely she would not be able to move for a time. Her muscles would be like jelly.

Sanar ran. Whenever he saw a guard, he struck him down with lightning. He did not feel tired. He knew that this was the adrenalin, which would present it's fee later, but for now he felt powerful.
"There's the door!" He shouted, relieved. He looked back.
Jessica was lagging behind. Tears rolled down her face. He ran back, picked her up (With difficulty) and then ran, blasting the door open, knocking everyone in the room down with a powerful blast of wind.

One of the scientists went up to the pod,and held out his hand.He wanted to help her down.
She looked at his hand.What did he want?
"Do...you want down?"He said.That's what he wanted.She put his hand in his,and he pulled her down.She stood,unsteadily.The pod had different flooring to this.How was she meant to balance?
She fell,head first,only to be caught by a scientist.That was a relief.He stood her back up,and she held her arms out for balance.
"Could you...sit in this chair?"Said one of the scientists.When she didn't move he said"We need to make sure everything's working fine."She walked,slowly,over to the chair before collapsing in it.They placed some wires on her arm.
"Okay,she'll have to stay there for a while."Said the head scientist."Nero,sir?Was there anythign you wanted to say to her,or ask her?"

Cobra woke up to see himself getting dragged down a long, white hallway. He shook his head and looked out of a window. On the otherside, he saw a lab with a very strange looking man being tortured. Suddenly, the man burst out of his restraints and threw one of the scientists against the window, with only one hand! The other got a seringe but before she could use it, he ripped her throat apart. He gave a mighty shout of rage and then security pushed him to the floor. Cobra looked ahead of him and saw Butch being dragged along. "Err... Where are we?" Cobra asked the two men, pulling him along. "You are in AMC." The man on the left replied rather gruffly.
Cobra got thrown into a bare cell and Butch got dragged off. He got up and checked himself. He was only wearing his lower clothes and he was getting fairly cold. He looked around his cell and saw a young woman curled up on the bench. He walked over to the reinforced door and tried opening it, unsuccessfully. "It is hopless. You are stuck in here, like the rest of us captives..." Said the woman quietly. Cobra turned to look at her and she had'nt moved. He tutted and said "Well, this is going to be fun. Which bunk is yours?" He asked, as calm as ever.
The girl uncurled and got up. Cobra looked at her face. She had black eyes and was very, very pale. She had a deep cut straight down the left side of her face. "Tis a shame about that scar ma'am. Ruining such a face." Cobra said and she just looked at him. "The top is my bunk, yours is bottom." She told him and layed down on her bunk and stared at the ceiling. "This scar is nothing compared to poor 1102. i bet you saw him on your way here?" He looked up at her and replied "Was he that really muscular man? The one who just killed his scientist?" She did'nt reply but it sounded to Cobra like she was sobbing. "I would take that as a yes..." Cobra told himself and layed down on his bunk...

Nero sat in another chair. He looked at the girl.
"Can you feel it? Can you feel the power inside you?"